System & Network

Administration

Data Preservation: Backup

Backups

 Part of a Systems Administrators job is maintaining the

integrity of the system. This does not mean that she is expected
to prevent anything unexpected from happening ever. It just
means that she needs to be aware of possible emergencies and
have a plan to deal with them.
 One of the most basic emergencies is loss of data. In the event
that the building burns down or a hard-drive goes bad or data is
lost by the remove command rm *, the system can be rebuild,
but without a backup, it cannot be restored to its original
condition.
2
 Planning for Disasters and Everyday Needs

 There are many factors to consider in developing a backup plan :

 What files need to be backed up?
 Where are the files that need to be backed up?
 Who will back up these files?
 When, where and under what conditions should these backups be
performed?
 How often do these files change?
 How quickly does a missing file need to be restored?
 Where will the data be restored?
 The ultimate goal is the ability to restore the entire system in a
reasonable amount of time.
3
 Characteristics of a Good Backup Strategy

 Backup strategies change from site to site. There are a number

of strategies that need to be considered when creating a backup
plan.
 Ease of use
 time efficiency
 ease if restoring files
 ability to verify backups
 tolerance of faulty media
 portability to a range of machines
4
Considerations for a Backup Strategy

 Other factors that may affect the type of backup strategy

implemented are:
 available commands
 available hardware
 maximum expected size of file systems
 importance of data
 level of data modification

5
Scheduling Backups

 Depending on the requirements, an appropriate backup

schedule needs to be defined.
 The simplest and most through backup scheme is to copy all
the files on a system to a tape. This is called a full backup.
 Incremental backups are done more often than full backups. An
incremental creates a copy of all the files that have changed
since a previous backup.

6
Backup Strategy

 Some files like /tmp may never need to be backed up. All dynamic
files on the system should be backed up. These include:
 Password and group files
 Accounting files
 Configuration files
 Network files such as - localhosts, networks, route, hosts.equiv
 UUCP files such as - devices, dialers, L-devices
 Cron (system) files
 User files
7
Methods of Backup

 There are generally two ways that information can be

transported from one media to another.
 Image transports: This bypasses the file system and reads
the information straight off the disk using the raw device
file. dd and dump uses this method.
 File by file: Stores files, one file at a time. It is more
portable and is easier to restore. However, it is more time
consuming to do. tar and cpio use this method.

8
Backup Storage Consideration

 Properly storing the backup tapes, diskettes or other media once they
are done is an important part of any backup plan.
 Know where things are
 Make routine restoration easy (label and store close)
 Write-protect backup media
 Environmental considerations
 Handle media properly
 Take security into account
 Figure out long-term storage
9
Backup and Replication

 Local Replication
 Data from the production devices is copied to replica devices
within the same array
 The replicas can then be used for restore operations in the event
of data corruption or other events
 Remote Replication
 Data from the production devices is copied to replica devices on a
remote array
 In the event of a failure, applications can continue to run from the
target device
 Backup/Restore
 Backup to tape has been a predominant method to ensure
business continuity
 Frequency of backup is depend on RPO/RTO requirements

10
What is a Backup?

 Backup is an additional copy of data that can be used for

restore and recovery purposes
 The Backup copy is used when the primary copy is lost or
corrupted
 This Backup copy can be created by:
 Simply coping data (there can be one or more copies)
 Mirroring data (the copy is always updated with whatever is
written to the primary copy)

11
It’s All About Recovery

 Businesses back up their data to enable its recovery in case of potential

loss
 Businesses also back up their data to comply with regulatory requirements
 Backup purposes:
 Disaster Recovery
 Restores production data to an operational state after disaster
 Operational
 Restore data in the event of data loss or logical corruptions that may occur during
routine processing
 Archival
 Preserve transaction records, email, and other business work products for regulatory
compliance
Backup/Recovery Considerations

 Customer business needs determine:

 What are the restore requirements – RPO & RTO?
 Where and when will the restores occur?
 What are the most frequent restore requests?
 Which data needs to be backed up?
 How frequently should data be backed up?
 hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
 How long will it take to backup?
 How many copies to create?
 How long to retain backup copies?
Other Considerations: Data

 Location
 Number and size of files
Backup Granularity
Full Backup

Su Su Su Su Su

Cumulative (Differential) Backup

Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su

Incremental Backup

Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su M T W T F S Su

Amount of data backup

Restoring from Incremental
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Backup
Files 1, 2, 3 File 4 Updated File 3 File 5 Files 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Full Backup Incremental Incremental Incremental

Production

 Key Features
 Files that have changed since the last backup are backed up
 Fewest amount of files to be backed up, therefore faster
backup and less storage space
 Longer restore because last full and all subsequent
incremental backups must be applied
Restoring from Cumulative
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Backup
Files 1, 2, 3 File 4 Files 4, 5 Files 4, 5, 6 Files 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Full Backup Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative

Production

 Key Features
 More files to be backed up, therefore it takes more
time to backup
and uses more storage space
 Much faster restore because only the last full and the
last cumulative
backup must be applied
Backup Methods

 Cold or offline
 Hot or online
Backup Architecture and Process
 Backup client
 Sends backup data to
backup server or
storage node
 Backup server og
atal
ataC
 Manages backup Metad
Backup Data
Ba Storage Array
operations and ck
up
Da
maintains backup ta

catalog Application Server/ Backup Server/

 Backup Client Storage Node
Storage node
 Responsible for writing Tape Library
data to backup device
Backup Operation
1 Start of scheduled backup process
Application Server and Backup Clients

2 Backup server retrieves backup related

information from backup catalog

3a Backup server instructs storage node to

load backup media in backup device

3b Backup server instructs backup clients to

send its metadata to the backup server
and data to be backed up to storage node
3b 4
4 Backup clients send data to storage node

5 Storage node sends data to backup device

1 3a 5 Storage node sends media information to

6
backup server
2

7 Backup server update catalog and records

7 6
the status

Backup Server Storage Node Backup Device

Restore Operation
Backup server scans backup catalog
Application Server and Backup Clients 1
to identify data to be restore and the
client that will receive data

2 Backup server instructs storage node

to load backup media in backup device

3 Data is then read and send to backup

client

4 Storage node sends restore metadata

to backup server
3

5 Backup server updates catalog

1 2 3

5 4

Backup Server Storage Node Backup Device

Lesson Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:

 Purposes for Backup
 Considerations for backup and recovery
 Backup granularity
 Full, Cumulative, Incremental
 Backup methods
 Backup/recovery process and operation
Next: Backup/Recovery Topologies &
Technologies

Upon completion of this lesson, you be able to:

 Describe backup topologies
 Direct backup
 LAN and LAN free backup
 Mixed backup
 Detail backup in NAS environment
 Describe backup technologies
 Backup to tape
 Backup to disk
 Backup to virtual tape
Backup Topologies

 There are 3 basic backup topologies:

 Direct Attached Based Backup
 LAN Based Backup
 SAN Based Backup
 Mixed backup
Direct Attached Backups

Metadata Data

LAN

Backup Server Backup Device

Application Server
and Backup Client
and Storage Node
LAN Based Backups
Application Server
and Backup Client Backup Server

Metadata

LAN

Data

Backup Device
Storage Node
SAN Based Backups (LAN Free)

LAN FC SAN
Metadata
Data

Backup Server Application Server Backup Device

and Backup Client

Storage Node
Mixed Backup
Application Server
and Backup Client

Metadata

LAN FC SAN

Metadata Data

Backup Server Application Server

and Backup Client Backup Device

Storage Node
Backup in NAS Environment – Server
Based

Storage

LAN FC SAN

NAS Head
Application Server Backup Device
(Backup Client)

Backup Request
Backup Server/ Storage Node Data
Metadata
Backup in NAS Environment –
Serverless

Storage

LAN FC SAN

NAS Head
Application Server Backup Device
(Backup Client)

Backup Request
Data
Backup Server /
Storage Node Metadata
Backup in NAS Environment – NDMP
2-way

Storage

LAN FC SAN

NAS Head
Application Server Backup Device
(Backup Client)

Backup Request
Backup Server Data
Metadata
Backing up a NAS Device – NDMP 3-
way
NAS Head

FC SAN

LAN Storage
LAN

Application Server FC SAN

(Backup Client)
NAS Head
Backup Device

Backup Request
Data
Metadata
Backup Server
Backup Technology options

 Backup to Tape
 Physical tape library
 Backup to Disk
 Backup to virtual tape
 Virtual tape library
Backup to Tape
 Traditional destination for backup
 Low cost option
 Sequential / Linear Access
 Multiple streaming
 Backup streams from multiple clients to a single backup device

Data from
Stream 1 Data from
Stream 2 Data from
Stream 3

Tape
Backup to Disk

 Ease of implementation
 Fast access
 More Reliable
 Random Access
 Multiple hosts access
 Enhanced overall backup and recovery performance
Tape versus Disk – Restore Comparison

Disk 24
Backup / Restore Minutes

Tape 108
Backup / Restore Minutes

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Recovery Time in Minutes*
*Total time from point of failure to return of service to e-mail users

Typical Scenario:
 800 users, 75 MB mailbox
 60 GB database

Source: EMC Engineering and EMC IT

Virtual Tape Library
Backup Server/
Storage Node

FC SAN

LAN

Virtual Tape Library Appliance

Emulation Engine
Storage (LUNs)

Backup Clients
Tape Versus Disk Versus Virtual Tape

Tape Disk-Aware Virtual Tape

Backup-to-Disk

Offsite Capabilities Yes No Yes

Reliability No inherent protection RAID, spare RAID, spare

methods

Performance Subject to mechanical Faster single stream Faster single stream

operations, load times

Use Backup only Multiple Backup only

(backup/production)
Data De-duplication
 Data de-duplication refers to removal of redundant data. In the
de-duplication process, a single copy of data is maintained
along with the index of the original data, so that data can be
easily retrieved when required. Other than saving disk storage
space and reduction in hardware costs, (storage hardware,
cooling, backup media, etc), another major benefit of data de-
duplication is bandwidth optimization.
Lesson Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:

 Backup topologies
 Direct attached, LAN and SAN based backup
 Backup in NAS environment
 Backup to Tape
 Backup to Disk
 Backup to virtual tape
 Comparison among tape, disk and virtual tape backup